German-based ib vogt begins construction of Egypt solar project

Work has begun on three solar power plants in Benban, in the Aswan Governorate of Egypt. Engineering firm ib vogt is serving as the project developer, investor and acting EPC contractor on the 165.5MWp project, which it is developing in partnership with Infinity Solar, Phoenix Energy and BPE Partners.

These are the first solar plants under construction, as part of the second round of Egypt’s Feed-in Tariff (FiT) programme. The three solar power plants extend over a total area of 270 hectares and will feature approximately 500,000 solar modules fitted on horizontal tracking systems.

Construction on two of the solar power plants began in January, while work on the third plant is to begin later in February according to ib vogt. The project is scheduled for completion early next year.

“Following the successful construction and energisation of our 64MWp round one project in Egypt, we are pleased to announce the commencement of the build-out of our next three plants in this series and are proud that these are the first of the round two projects. We, together with our local partners, have demonstrated our strong capabilities to manage the complex issues in building these projects in Egypt, incorporating all stakeholders, local community and local specific requirements to deliver the projects,” said Anton Milner, managing director of ib vogt.

Once completed, over 400,000MWh of electricity will be produced annually, which is said to be enough to supply 55,000 homes and save 178,000 tons of CO2 emissions per annum.

Once connected to the grid, the power generated will be supplied to state-owned Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) on the basis of a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA).